European stocks are expected to open higher in a light trading session as traders became optimistic that a Brexit trade deal would be reached.
According to IG index data, the UK FTSE 100 is up 38 points to 6,530 and the French CAC is up 15 points to 5,552 points. The German and Italian markets are closed on Christmas Eve.
Britain and the European Union are about to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal on Thursday. It comes after months of political bickering over major bottlenecks such as fishing.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will speak with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London around 7 a.m. Johnson is then expected to hold a press conference an hour later.
In Asia, stocks were mainly higher as investors watched the latest Brexit developments. MSCI’s widest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.5%.
On Wall Street, stock futures rose before the last trading day of the week with a holiday shortening.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a sweeping defense bill, breaking the Republican-led senate. The move came after he called Congress’s long-delayed $ 900 billion coronavirus aid package an inadequate “disgrace.”